About the Election

 

The South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education consists of nine members each of whom serves a three-year term. Three of the nine seats are up for election each year. Beginning with the 2013 election cycle, as provided by law and specifically authorized by a vote of the Board of Education in December 2012, our local Board of Education elections were moved from the second Tuesday in April to the first Tuesday in November. This year's election is on Tuesday, November 3.  Polls are open from 6:00 AM - 8:00 PM at your regular polling places.

 

In addition to its nine voting members elected by local voters, a student representative is elected by the Columbia High School student body. The student representative has full speaking rights in public session and casts an advisory vote.

 

This year, there are nine candidates vying for three seats:  Annemarie Maini, Chris Sabin, Dorcas Lind, Madhu Pai, Margaret Freedson, Shannel Roberts, Wayne Eastman, Marian Raab and Elissa Malespina.

 

The nine candidates' names will appear on a single line, in a separate section of the ballot, in the upper right-hand corner. Ballot positions for the names (from left to right) were determined by a random drawing conducted by the Essex County Clerk on August 10, as provided by law.

 

The Board of Education election is a non-partisan election with no slates or "ballot lines" depicted on the ballot. Legislation was adopted by the NJ Legislature in June 2014 -- but vetoed in August 2014 by Governor Christie -- that would have enabled the "bracketing" of candidate names to indicate a candidate slate. 

 

Find Your Polling Place

 

To find your polling place, go to the Polling Place Locator on the same site.

 

Voter Registration

 

To double-check your voter registration status, click here.

 

Information on New Jersey voter ID requirements may be found at:  The New Jersey Department of State.

 

You can register to vote up until the evening of October 13. Voter registration forms mailed to the County Clerk must be received by this date. The Essex County Clerk will establish evening hours on October 13 as mandated by law to enable those attempting to register at the last minute. Municipal clerks at their discretion may also establish late hours on October 13.

 

Voter registration forms are available at the NJ Department of State website here. There are county-specific forms for Essex County in English and Spanish. Scroll to the bottom of the page for voter registration forms in the following languages:  English, Spanish, Korean, Gujarati, Simplied Chinese and Traditional Chinese. The Essex County forms are pre-addressed to the Essex County Clerk. The statewide forms must be hand-addressed to the Essex County Clerk.

 

Vote By Mail

 

In the state of New Jersey, it is now possible to vote by mail, at each voter's discretion.

 

Forms to request a mail-in ballot are also on the New Jersey Department of State website. This is a different form than the voter registration form. You must make a specific request with this form if you wish to vote by mail. You must already be registered to vote to submit a request for a mail ballot. Requests for a mail ballot must be mailed in time to be received by the Essex County Clerk no later than October 27. Those missing this deadline may present their application in person at the Essex County Clerk's office up until 3:00 PM on November 2, the day before the election. The Essex County Clerk's office is located at: 465 Martlin Luther King Boulevard, Room 247, Newark, NJ. The office is open from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday, holidays excepted.